1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a method of mechanically treating concrete blocks by the irregular removal of fragments in the region of edges and corners. The invention also relates to an apparatus for implementing the method.
2. Prior Art
Concrete blocks, in particular concrete paving blocks, are frequently subjected to mechanical treatment in which edges and corners of the concrete blocks are irregularly knocked off. The intention is thus for the concrete blocks to achieve the outer appearance of an (artificially) aged block.
The method of artificially aging concrete blocks which has been used in practice up until now consists in the finished, set concrete blocks which have been cured fully by corresponding storage being moved through a rotating drum. In this case, corners and edges are irregularly knocked off within the drum, to be precise by reciprocal mechanical treatment of the blocks, but also by the latter striking against the drum wall (so-called tumbling of concrete blocks).
The tumbling method is associated with the considerable development of noise and dust. It is also disadvantageous that the treated concrete blocks occur as bulk goods, that is to say they leave the drum in a disordered formation. This makes further processing of the concrete blocks more difficult, in particular in the case of mechanical laying of the concrete blocks for producing paving. In this case, the disordered blocks have to be positioned and stacked manually, with corresponding outlay, for the purpose of producing formations in order to be able to be transported to the construction site in a manner appropriate for laying.
The object of the invention is to improve a method of, and an apparatus for, mechanically treating the paving blocks in order to make available concrete-blocked units which can be processed with a low level of aggravating noise and dust being produced.
In order to achieve this object, the method according to the invention is characterized in that a group of the concrete blocksxe2x80x94block groupxe2x80x94is positioned on a base such that top edges and corners are at least temporarily exposed and/or, offset in relation to the respectively adjacent concrete blocks, project beyond these adjacent concrete blocks, and in that treatment bodies are moved over the thus arranged group of concrete blocks in order to treat the projecting edges and corners mechanically.
According to the invention, the concrete blocks are at rest during the treatment, but are positioned relative to one another such that edges and corners are exposed as upwardly directed projections, with the result that treatment bodies moved over the top side of the block group can remove the relevant edges and corners irregularly.
The block group is preferably positioned in an inclined plane, the treatment bodies being moved over the concrete blocks, which are offset in an imbricated manner, under their own weight with rolling or sliding action. The base for the block group, in particular a treatment table, is movable, with the result that the concrete blocks can be arranged in an imbricated manner in different positions relative to one another in order for all the edges in the region of a top side of the concrete blocks to be treated.
The block group treated in this way comprises concrete blocks which are positioned relative to one another in a manner necessary for the storage and/or the transportation and/or mechanical laying as paving blocks. A block group may thus comprise a transporting and laying unit or a plurality of units positioned one beside the other.
According to a further proposal of the invention, the operation of mechanically treating the concrete blocks is integrated in the production process of the same. Following setting in the region of the drying chambers, the concrete blocks are fed directly to the mechanical-treatment apparatus according to the invention. Intermediate storage in order to be cured fully is dispensed with.